Folding tablet arm chair



July 27, 1965 s. B. HENDRICKSON 3,197,254

FOLDING TABLET ARM CHAIR Filed March 20, 1963 FIGZ INVENTOR. SEVERIN B.HENDRICKSON T BY 14 I I %MQ Q,WQ%MA ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,197,254 FULDHJG TABLET ARM CHAIR Severin B. Hendrieirson, Templeton,Mass, assignor to Heywood-Wakefield Qornpany, Gardner, Mass, acorporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar. 20, 1963, er. No. 266,685 1Claim. (Cl. 297162) This invention relates to chairs of the type used inauditoriurns and classrooms having writing tablets affixed thereto, andmore particularly to an improved means of pivotally supporting a writingtablet whereby it may be displaced from a horizontal position extendingacross a seated persons lap to a remote side storage position when notin use.

in chairs of the type having immovable horizontally disposed writingtablets afiixed thereto, it is usually necessary for the occupant of thechair to slide beneath the writin tablet when seating himself. This inturn necessitates an awkward bending of the body in order to fit betweenthe tablet and the seat. Where the chairs are placed side by side inclosely spaced rows as they ften are in auditoriums and classrooms, thisprocedure becomes increasingly difficult and often results in annoyingdisturbances to people already seated in nearby chairs. When itsubsequently becomes necessary to stand from a seated position in one ofsaid chairs, the above mentioned bending and sliding is againnecessitated, often with the same accompanying disturbances anddifficulties.

In an effort to avoid the above-mentioned difficulties, attempts havebeen made in the past to provide chairs with movable writing tablets.However, the means for mounting the tablets for movement to remotepositions in order to facilitate seating have not proved entirelysatisfactory. This has been due to a combination of factors including alack of structural rigidity, a failure f the operating mechanisms towithstand constant use without the need of frequent repairs, and thelack of a smooth and efiicient method of displacing the tablet withoutdisturbing persons sea-ted in adjacent chairs.

Consequently, an object of the present invention is to provide animproved means for pivotally mounting a movable writing tablet on achair.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a means forsecuring the tablet in a remote side storage when not in use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a writing tablethaving a suitably disposed support member attached thereto and toprovide the occupant of the chair with an arm rest when the writingtablet is in the side storage position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a quick andefficient means of displacing the writing tablet from a positionextending orizontally across the occupants lap to a remote side storageposition.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a firm support forthe writing tablet when it is in a horizontally disposed position acrossthe users lap.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a meansfor pivotally displacing the writing tablet capable of undergoingconstant use without the need of frequent repair.

These and other objects of the present invention will become moreapparent as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanyingdrawings in which:

PEG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair with the writing tabletpivotally displaced to the remote side storage position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the pivotal mechanism taken along line 2-2of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view show ng the writing tabletpivotally displaced to an intermediate upwardly disposed verticalposition prior to its final pivotal displacement to a horizontalposition extending above the seat and parallel thereto;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the chair and tablet combination withthe tablet in a horizontal position extending above the seat andparallel thereto.

Referring now to H6. 1, a chair generally indicated at 2 and having aseat 4 and a back rest 6 is shown provided with an upwardly disposedtubular side member 8 having pivotally mounted thereon a writing tabletgenerally indicated at 152. In this illustration, the writing tablet isdownwardly displaced in a side storage position, making the chair readyfor occupancy without unnecessary obstructions to the user.

Before discussing the procedure for pivotally displacing the writingtablet 1d, the structure of the pivotal assembly generally indicated atll will be described with specific reference to FIG. 2. Member 8 isprovided at its upper extremity with a tubular sleeve portion 12 weldedthereto as at 14. A circular spring retaining member 15 is positionedwithin sleeve portion 12 and supported by the circular upper extremityof side member 8. Member 16 is in turn provided with a raised centralportion 18 cooperating with the interior side wall of sleeve portion 12to form an annular spring retaining groove 26.

Coiled spring 22 is contained by sleeve portion 12 and supported byspring retaining member 1 5 with its lower rim 24 seated within groove2%. Baffie member 25 having a semi-spherical depression centrallylocated therein is supported by spring 22 and in turn provides a supportfor ball 28. The upper surface of ball 23 is seated within a conicaldepression 31? in spherical member 32, in turn pinned by pin 36 to rod34 which extends horizontally through apertures 35 in the walls ofsleeve 12. As can be seen in PEG. 2, spherical member 32 is furtherprovided with a second conical depression 38 oppositely disposed toconical depression 3i Because spring 22 is held in compression betweenbafile member 26 and spring retaining member 16, an upward force isexerted on ball 28, tending to firmly position its upper surface withinconical depression 39 and thereby impart a locking action to sphericalmember 32 and rod 34. When rod 34 is rotated about its longitudinalaxis, ball 28 is dislodged from depression 30 in spherical member 32thereby allowing both spherical member 32. and rod 34 to rotate freelythrough or until the upper surface of the ball seats itself in conicaldepression 38.

Rod 34 is further provide at one extremity with an integrally fabricatedtubular cross member 40 (shown in FIG. 3). As can be more clearly seenin FIG. 3, the writing tablet 15 is comprised of a fiat wooden or metalmember 42 supported by braces 44 and 4d attached to its bottom surface.The lower portions of braces 44 and 46 (as seen in FIG. 3) extend in aspaced parallel relationship for a limited distance to form channel 48therebetween. Brace 44 then subsequently extends angularly away frombrace 46 and towards the center of member 42 to provide additionalsupport therefor. Braces 44 and 4d are provided with oppositely disposedapertures through the lower portion thereof and are pivotally attachedto tubular cross member 40 by a bolt 50 passed through said aperturesand said tubular cross member and secured by nut 52.

Member 42 is additionally provided with an arm support 54 attached toits bottom surface along its lower edge by screws 56.

The method of moviru the writing tablet it} from a d side storageposition as shown in FIG. 1 to a horizontal position oppositely disposedfrom the seat t as shown in FIG. 4 will now be discussed. When thetablet 19 is in the side storage position as shown in FIG. 1, support 5is horizontally positioned and outwardly disposed with respect to thevertical fiat surface of member 42 in order to provide an arm rest. Inaddition, as can be best seen in FIG. 2, a semi-circular spacer 39attached to sleeve portion 12 bears against the edges of braces 44 and46 in order to extra stabilizing force on the tablet at this point. Thusit can be seen that with the writing tablet in this position, one caneasily be seated in the chair without the need of bending or sliding.Furthermore, support 54 provides the occupant with an arm rest, therebycontributing substantially to the overall comfort of the chair.

When the occupant has need of the writing tablet, only two basicmovements need be executed. The tablet is first placed in an upwardlydisposed position as shown in FIG. 3 by being rotated in its own planeabout the longitudinal axis of rod 34. This is done by grasping tablet1t) and simply rotating it. Rotation of rod 34 will cause acorresponding rotation of spherical member 32 and a dislocation of ball23 from conical depression 39. As the tablet arrives at the upwardlydisposed position shown in FIG. 3, conical depression 33 will have beenrotated through approximately 180 to a bottom position and will engageball 23, thereby resulting in a locking action that will tend to holdthe tablet in a vertical position. It should also be noted that when thetablet is in the vertical position illustrated in FIG. 3 with ball 23seated within conical depression 38, channel 43 located between braces 4and 46 is in lateral alignment with the upper portion of tubular sleeve12.

The second step in preparing the writing tablet for use involves thedownward pivotal displacement of the tablet about the longitudinal axisof bolt 5% In so doing, rubber bumper 5d held in place on sleeve 12 byscrew 63 enters channel 48 and engages the horizontally disposed flanges62 and 64 of braces idand 46, thereby providing a vertical support forthe tablet by exerting an upward force thereon through the braces.

ln order to return the tablet to the side storage position, the reverseprocedure is followed. The table is first pivoted upwardly about thelongitudinal axis of bolt 50 until bumper 58 is completely clear ofchannel 48. The tablet is then rotated downwardly in its own plane,causing ball 23 to be dislodge from conical depression 38. This rotationis continued until the tablet has reached the position shown in FIG. 1and locking engagement is again accomplished by the seating of ball 28in conical depression 3'1).

Thus it can be seen that the occupant of a chair can stand or be seatedwithout interference from the writing tablet in its side storageposition. To use the tablet, only two simple movements are required.These operations can be easily and quickly accomplished withoutannoyance to persons seated in adjacent chairs and when finally loweredto a position across the occupants lap, the writing tablet provides asturdy surface which can be used for writing or for the support of booksand other matter. In addition, the combined pivotal mechanisms provide arugged wear-resistant structure capable of long use witl out the need offrequent repairs.

it is my intention to cover all changes and modifications of the exampleof the invention herein chosen for purposes of disclosure which do notconstitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1 claim:

Means for pivotally mounting a flat surfaced writing tablet on a chairfor movement from an initial downwardly disposed vertical side storageposition through at intermediate upwardly disposed vertical position toa final operative position extending horizontally and in spacedrelationship over the seat of said chai said means comprising thecombination of a longitudinal upwardly disposed supporting memberattached to said chair, piovtal housing having its upper exteremityterminating in a tablet bumper mounted on said upwardly disposedsupporting member, a first pivotal means contained within said housingfor pivoting said tablet within the plane of said flat surface from saidinitial downwardly disposed vertical side storage position to saidintermediate vertical position, said housing containing means forexerting a holding action on said first pivotal means when said tabletis in said initial and intermediate positions, a second pivotal meansoperatively connected to said first pivotal means for pivotallydisplacing said tablet in a direction transverse to said plane from saidintermediate position to said final horizontal operative position, saidbumper exerting an upward supporting force on said tablet when in saidfinal operative position, and an arm support member mounted on saidwriting tablet and extending outwardly therefrom, said arm supportmember having its upper surface coinciding with one edge of said tableto provide an arm rest when said tablet is positioned in said downwardlydisposed vertical side storage position.

References (iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 533,592 2/95Hood 297-162 1,031,287 7/12 Page 16-141 1,649,951 11/27 English 5-571,905,859 4/33 Hamilton 297-162 2,468,683 4/49 Michal 248-284 X2,833,335 5/58 Leclair 288-284 X 2,954,073 9/60 Junkunc 297-1622,999,268 9/61 Strandengen 188-83 X 3,140,894 7/64 Hicke 297-162 FOREIGNPATENTS 527,259 6/31 ermany.

18,370 of/09 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

